QUORA: ‘What three points do communists and fascists disagree on?’

 QUORA: ‘What three points do communists and fascists disagree on?’

I posted this answer:

1. Communism is international socialism: It seeks a worldwide homogenous system. Fascism is national socialism: It seeks to tailor its system to the customs and traditions of individual nations.

2. Communism allows no private property or private enterprise. Fascism allows a superficial veneer of both. But it is only a veneer of privatization, as all economic forces, as Mussolini put it, must be “coordinated and harmonized in the unity of the State.”

3. Communism is by definition strictly egalitarian—”from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Fascism is less so, or not at all so. 

These differences are superficial, though. What’s more important, because more fundamental, is what they have in common. There are 4 fundamental commonalities:

1. Statism (central control of all aspects of society)

2. Collectivism (the supremacy of some group, be it the race, the proletariat, society as a whole, et al, in whose name the state operates) 

3. Mysticism (the quasi-religious belief in a higher group or national consciousness in whose will the state is the embodiment.)

4. A common enemy — Enlightenment liberalism and its consequences; individualism, constitutionally limited individual rights-protecting government, and Capitalism.

So, in practice, communism and fascism have meaningful differences.

But fundamentally, on the philosophical level—which is the level that counts most—communism and fascism can be thought of as fraternal twins. Never mind that, in today’s scrambled jargon, communism is considered “far Left” and fascism “far Right.” In truth, the only social system that is the antipode of both is Capitalism.

Related answers:

Why do people find communism so terrifying as an idea?

Why do fascism and communism often go hand in hand when they are philosophically polar opposites?

Is it possible to be both a Communist and a Fascist?

Related Reading:

QUORA *: ‘Why do people find communism so terrifying as an idea?’

Individualism vs. Collectivism: Our Future, Our Choice—Craig Biddle

What is Capitalism?—Ayn Rand

Nazism, Communism, Atheism, and the Enlightenment

QUORA: ‘Is fascism a form of capitalism?’

We Need a Deeper Understanding of Socialism

A is A, and Socialism by any Other Name...